Scrumptious Loaded Cookie Bars [Intro to Cooking]

I don’t know why, but the reallygood desserts are always the ones that combine all the sinful little treats together into one huge rule-breaking, diet-busting, orgasmic mixture. You just find all your favorites, throw them in a greased pan, toss it into the oven, and somehow all is right with the world. This is exactly what will happen if you take on the challenge (I use this word lightly) of preparing these loaded (and they’re really loaded) cookie bars.

What you need:

-One 16.5-oz. roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough, at room temperature (choose any type of cookie dough you love, spice it up a little if you don’t want plain old sugar, even though it tastes divine as well).

-1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped (I left these out of the batch I made because a person at the party had a specific nut allergy, they still turned out great if you have the same issue, also be careful of the peanut butter chips!).

* I put “a little” more than 1/2 cup in, in case there are any other daredevils that want to join in.

What to do:

1.) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2.) Get a 9 in. x 9 in. baking pan and spray or grease it.

3.) Literally pour all the ingredients into a very large mixing bowl and kneed it all together with your hands.

4.) Once thoroughly mixed so all the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the dough, take the mixture and press it into the pan, making sure that it evenly covers the surface.

5.) A lot of the ingredients will end up falling out of the dough you mix, you can just throw all the extra pieces on top of the pressed dough…or eat some like I do (remember there are raw eggs though! Don’t say I didn’t warn you!)

6.) Put in your oven for 22-25 minutes, watching for the edges to begin to brown. Make sure you really watch it though, M&Ms can do weird things in the oven sometimes, I learned from experience with other recipes.

7.) Take out of the oven at appropriate time, then let the bars cool completely before cutting them.

Becca is a college senior studying English lit, French, and marketing in Naperville, Illinois. She loves a warm cup of tea and a great book, and a puppy wouldn't hurt either. She hopes to one day work in the publishing industry.